speedy strengthening of our common defenses. Day-to-day changes in the news from Korea do not change the basic situation. The danger is no less real than it was a month ago. The strategy of the Kremlin is still the same.

NO RELAXATION OF OUR EFFORTS

If the armistice talks should collapse, we would be ready for a major Communist assault on the United Nations forces. The enemy has been building up his forces throughout this period. General Ridgway is alert to the threat and is ready for it. The discussions at Kaesong thus far have not yet produced an agreement as to any points of substance which are essential to a satisfactory armistice.

I need not remind this committee that we have had periods of relative quiet before. There was an easing of tension for a while after the Soviet failure to dominate Iran in 1946. There was a lull in Soviet pressure after the Soviet success in Czechoslovakia. There was an easing of tension after the defeat of the Communists in Greece and after the lifting of the Berlin blockade. There may be a period of comparative quiet if there is an armistice in Korea. If so, we must not let ourselves be pulled off balance by a shift in tactics.

It is our purpose to create enough strength in the free world to deter the Soviet imperialists from all aggressive adventures and to bring about an era of genuine relaxation of tension. But we must face the fact that the required amount of strength does not exist. Until it does exist-and until there is a fundamental change in Soviet policy—we must recognize temporary easings of tension for what they are: as tactical moves intended to weaken and to divide us.

I am convinced that the American people, with the events of recent years clearly in mind, will not now relax their efforts to make our country secure.

We must instead renew our determination and increase our current efforts to create an over-all situation of strength that will bring a measure of general peace and security.

ESSENTIAL FEATURES OF PROPOSED PROGRAM

It would be misleading to imply that this porgram can be completed without sacrifice. It is going to cost large sums of money and it is going to take time. I am convinced that it represents the most economical, practical, and efficient method of providing this country with the necessary security. I believe that irrespective of comparative costs, there is no other way of providing an equivalent measure of security.

The practical steps which we are taking and those which we now propose to take to build strength in other countries are essential to our own safety and well-being.

We are requesting a total of $8.5 billion, of which $6.3 billion is for military aid and $2.2 billion is for economic aid. This assistance to other free nations will yield a much larger and a much faster return in terms of our national security than we could obtain by spending the same sums of money directly on our own Armed Forces. Without this program our whole defense strategy would have to be drastically revised. That would be both a costly and a dangerous procedure.

We are not now proposing an essentially new program. What is new is the pulling together of the economic, technical, and military assistance elements of our foreign aid into one program. It is important to keep in mind the relationship of these different elements of strength.

COMPONENTS OF THE AID PROGRAM

Military assistance, from a dollar standpoint, is the largest single item of the Mutual Security Program. It is not necessarily and in every instance the most important part. We have seen how political and economic deterioration and loss of morale rot the fibers of military strength. And we have seen how political and economic recovery can contribute to an increase in military power.

Thus, while we must be deeply concerned with the development of military strength, I am concerned that we not take too narrow a view of the problem. Economic and technical assistance must be sufficient to support the military programs and to deal with some of the fundamental problems of weakness where weapons alone are no defense.

Security is more than a military matter. It requires action against all those forces which undermine the free world. And it is not only the aid itself which is important—it is the way in which the aid programs are conceived. If these assistance programs are carried forward affirmatively and dynamically, they will in themselves become a source of strength and support.

Nor should we take too narrow a view as far as the different recipient countries are concerned. The needs of each have to be considered separately, but the relation of the parts to the whole must not be lost sight of. The parts interlock-between countries and areas, and within them.

DEVELOPMENT OF PROGRAM

This program has been developed over a period of many months by teamwork between all the departments and agencies concerned. They had available to them a vast amount of information assembled here and abroad. They also had the plans and data of many international agencies in which the United States is represented-such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Organization for European Economic Cooperation, the Inter-American Defense Board, and various United Nations agencies.

This Mutual Security Program is the result of the evaluation of this material and its coordination with our own plans and programs. It is the judgment of our highest authorities in military, economic, and foreign affairs that the program is needed in our own interests, that it will efficiently contribute to our own security, and that we have the means to carry it out.

PRESENTATION OF THE PROGRAM

The presentation of the program to your committee will, like the preparatory work, be a teamwork job. Following me, you will hear General Marshall, Mr. Foster, and four of our leading men in Europe, Mr. Spofford, Mr. Katz, and Mr. Batt, and General Kibler. Then the political, military, economic, and administrative aspects of the program in Europe, the Near East, the Far East, and the Western

Hemisphere will be presented by officials of the Departments of State and Defense and ECA, with assistance from other agencies on particular subjects of concern to them.

And I might interject here, Mr. Chairman, that you inquired at the opening of my statement whether I would be available for questioning, which, of course, I shall be. I want to point out that in matters of detail we will have all the people primarily in charge of the preparation of each branch of this program so that the committee may go as fully and deeply as it feels necessary and desirable into every aspect of the program.

And finally you will hear from Mr. Cabot, the Chairman of the Interdepartmental Committee responsible for coordination of the program, and General Bradley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

This teamwork will be carried over into the administration of the program, and will obtain a continuity of thought and of action which will result in a single-minded application of funds to promote the security of our Nation and of the free world as a whole.

ADMINISTRATION OF THE PROGRAM

We are proposing that the Mutual Security Program be administered under existing legislation, brought together and amended to the extent necessary to further the objectives of this integrated approach. The Mutual Defense Assistance Act, the Economic Cooperation Act, the Act for International Development and other assistance acts provide adequate foundation for a mutual security program. They were all designed to further the national interests and national security of our country, and they can be linked together to increase their effectiveness.

The organizational arrangements under which the program will be operated also link to the arrangements under which these acts have been administered in the past. Using the interdepartmental International Security Affairs Committee, we intend to make use of the valuable experience gained in operations under existing legislation. This will permit the new program to be carried out with minimum disruption of current operations, with maximum speed and efficiency. The amendments proposed to the existing acts are not many in number, but they are important. All are designed to make the application of our resources more effective in furthering mutual security.

The men who will testify in support of this program will not assert that it is a perfect program. In a task as large and complex as this there will always be room for improvement and development-which is the reason why we seek some flexibility in the use of the funds requested.

What we are prepared to show is that requirements exceed currently available resources; that they have been trimmed to fit our immediate capabilities; and that funds have been requested only where there is a need, a clear opportunity, and the means to build strength. This strength is important to our own security; it could not be obtained without our aid; and it could not be matched by any use of the same funds here at home.

BASIS OF PROGRAM-TIME IS ON OUR SIDE

The basis on which we have developed this program, as of our foreign policy as a whole, is that time is on our side if we make proper use of it. If we falter or relax the advantage will be with the other side.

The free nations are potentially so much stronger than the Soviet Union and its satellites that it would be folly if the free world's strength were not organized and developed. The free area of the world includes more than two-thirds of the total world population and nearly three-quarters of the land area. The total productivity of the free world is many times that of the Soviet Empire. And the free world has resources of mind and spirit incalculably greater than those under the dictatorial control of the Kremlin.

The countries and regions of the free world are interdependent, and if there can be created unity of purpose, resolution to meet the present danger, and the great strength that can come from the mutual security efforts and this is what we are now doing-then the threat that faces us can be reduced to manageable proportions. American policies are aimed at helping to bring about these conditions.

WESTERN HEMISPHERE SITUATION

Let us look first at the situation in the Western Hemisphere. Fortunately, we are blessed with good neighbors to the north and south. Our aim is to develop and strengthen the ties with our neighbors so that this hemisphere will have the security to enable all of us to pursue our national ideals and purposes free from foreign threats. Canada is a member with us of the North Atlantic Treaty and is associated with us in the Organization for European Economic Cooperation. We and our neighbors to the south are members of the Organization of American States. Military cooperation between the states of the Western Hemisphere is close and, I am confident, will continue to be close through the trials of the next few years.

There are certain tasks-such as the protection of key installations and key sources of raw materials-which we believe our partners to the south are ready and willing to take over. Careful plans are being developed by the Inter-American Defense Board. The Mutual Security Program would for the first time permit grant military assistance which will be required by certain countries of this hemisphere in order to discharge specific military tasks of this character.

There is also a very definite need in many of the Latin American Republics for help in improving agriculture and food production, health, education, and other essential services. The funds which are requested for technical assistance will be used for this purpose.

These military and technical assistance programs amounting in all to $62 million will help to keep the New World a symbol of hope for men everywhere, an evidence of man's ability to build a peaceful and secure and progressive way of life.

SITUATION IN EUROPE

Now let us look at Europe. You are familiar with the development of American policy in Europe since the war, of its evolution through the Greek-Turkish programs, the European recovery pro

gram and the North Atlantic Treaty. And now American troops are participating in an integrated force for the defense of Western Europe, with General Eisenhower as supreme commander.

A united Europe that is strong economically, spiritually, and militarily can, when added to our own strength, be a very strong deterrent to all forms of aggression, not only in Europe but elsewhere in the world.

The program of aid to Europe totals nearly $7 billion, of which $5.3 billion are for military aid and $1.7 billion are for economic aid. The first is composed almost entirely of military end items to be used to equip forces now being raised and trained to use them. Economic aid, in large part, is directly related to defense.

You are already familiar with the significant progress which our European partners have made during the past year in raising their defense expenditures, increasing military production, and training and equipping their armed forces. These tasks have been very difficult because their economies are not yet strong enough to carry the full burden of the necessary defense program. They have, however, undertaken these tasks with growing determination, and much progress has been made. They are planning an even greater effort on all fronts. The Mutual Security Program will help make this effort possible and will help achieve our common goals.

THE NEAR EAST

Along the southeastern reaches of Europe and into the Near East the aims of our foreign policy are to make even stronger the existing strong points, and to help other countries to strengthen themselves against the dangers which they face.

We are proposing military aid of $415 million and economic aid of $125 million for these purposes. This is in addition to economic aid for Greece and Turkey, which is included in the economic aid totals for Europe. The Near East is an area of special tensions today. Time is of great importance in furnishing aid to our friends in this area. The military program alone, however, is clearly not enough. The peoples of the Near East must feel that their lot is with the free world, and that the free world has their basic needs-moral and materialat heart. The economic program is longer term in its nature, but we must build economic strength in the area if it is not to be lost to subversion or aggression.

ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

In Asia and the Pacific area we have proposed a program of $930 million. Military aid will amount to $555 million and economic aid to $375 million.

In the great crescent which reaches from Japan to Afghanistan, there live almost 700 million people-about 3 out of 10 people who inhabit the earth.

The area includes south Asia-India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Ceylon, and Nepal; southeast Asia-Thailand, Burma, Indonesia, and the Associated States of Indochina; and the Philippines, Formosa, and Korea.